Social Media Today reports that a state law in Missouri, which would have prevented teachers and students from communicating privately over the Internet on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter was temporarily blocked, but if the injunction is lifted, it could have national implications. The law, also known as Senate Bill 54 or the Amy Hestir Student Protection Act, aims to fight inappropriate contact between students and teachers, including protecting children from sexual misconduct by their educators and is named after a Missouri public school student who was repeatedly molested by a teacher several decades ago. Oh, dear…

I once read a Facebook Note where some teachers actively use Facebook to connect to their students, seeing that social media is an extension of the added responsibility of being a public figure. Though many stay away from Facebook for fear of ethical, moral and often times the fear of even very ridiculous allegations, one workaround I kept reading is to accept only graduates or those who are over the age of 18.

Of course, the online social media relationship has to stay online. Teachers must not invite students, graduate or even above eighteen, for example, to a dinner party. Facebook today has given us the ability to set privacy settings all the way to each message or link we share and post on our wall. One way is to use (friend) “Lists,” though having existed for quite some time now, has been elevated and placed at the left-column list above the Group and Page lists. Teachers can sort their friends according to user-defined lists, whether as generic as “students” to more specific like “Biology 101 SY2009.”

Long before the internet and the World Wide Web, teachers going beyond their normal paid hours to help lagging students have always been the best hero example for young minds. In primary and middle school years, just seeing my teacher staying in school to help my best friend improve his math skills was a very, very positive image that has stuck in my mind until this day (and learning later in life that those sessions were unpaid hours). Now that our world has expanded the use of the internet into social media sites like Facebook, why do people want to bar its use to enhance the ability of those “heroes” doing what they love to do without having to stay late at night in school?

I believe these naysayers are those who have not looked into social media in-depth before coming up with their conclusion that Facebook is bad for their children, and staying up until late evening in school with a teacher conducting extra remedial lessons is good. I’ve seen many similar instances in small and mid-sized businesses where the boss and owner bans Facebook because he thinks it decreases productivity. The word “think” is actually a public relations mockup; the real word the boss meant was “guess.” Ignorance of the law is not an excuse, as we have all been told. Is ignorance of social media an excuse?

I’ve encountered marketing groups of both big and small businesses setting up their Facebook Page and realizing later they have to disable wall posting from their fans (people who clicked the “Like” button) because many were reading the complaints of a few. “Huh? You’re scared of that? That only means you believe your business has crappy products and services, or everyone in your company doesn’t have the common sense and good judgment to answer back amiably, respectfully, correctly and every postively-enforced “ly” word we can both think of.” Don’t you know Facebook is actually one of the best, cheapest, unpaid means of delivering great customer service and care right smack in the eyes of thousands if not millions of your fans, another freebie for awesome public relations? Facebook and the rest of the social media sites are not print media to market and sell your product and service to the entire world; it’s a targetted, supercharged “Word of Mouth” medium that either creates or extends both social, educational and professional relationships outside of the coffee shop, the work place or the school.

If you’re a teacher, a school head, an academic institution owner; heck! If you’re even business owner, the head of a department, part of the strategic or executive committee driving and steering your organization – heed the voices of your customer. They’ve already been using Facebook and other social media sites long before you’ve even realized they’re there. They’ve gotten so comfortable with Facebook it’s now part of their everyday life; the use of broadsheet publications and TV has probably gone down BUT (strong emphasis on that word) these have not disappeared.

Are you waiting for your competitor grab the “first mover advantage?” Worst, are you waiting for someone to impersonate you, gain all your would-be fans before you enter the digital social world? I know our local, major utility company is scratching its head trying to figure out how to kick the living hell out of the the several impersonators who now have thousands of followers; only now did they realize and decide to create their Facebook Page. Sheesh!

Let’s go back to the school and their teachers. Would you rather your students learn stuff from other people? Right or wrong, Facebook can lead them to the wrong path, much like the impersonators we’ve all seen before (so far, only Twitter acknowledges legitimacy of individual and organizational accounts in its microblogging site if you can prove to them who you really are). Is leading them to the wrong path just the parents’ fault or is it also “YOUR” fault? I honestly believe the teacher, that greatest public figure of young people who adore their moms, dads and (secretly, usually) their teachers, should begin to learn and equip themselves with the benefits, advantages and power of social media as an academic tool so that they can bring their social responsibiliy in the physical world to the social media realm, where their students wouldn’t stop bantering and swapping information, more so, asking school-related questions.

There’s an impulsive way of entering social media for the educational and business organization, and there’s a more proper way of doing so. The challenge is finding that proper and right way of doing so; and the million Dollar question is will you decide to do so?

Sources: Social Media Today | The Facebook Blog | National Middle School Association

Photo above by clarkstown67 at Flickr.com

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I recently attended the whole-day seminar on personal finance, “Steps to Financial Peace,” by none other than Randell Tiongson, a Registered Financial Planner (RFP) in the Philippines and a strong advocate of personal finance management, with guest speakers Francis Kong, Paulo Tibig, Jayson Lo and Ador Abrogena.

Francis Kong

I always remember listening to Francis Kong on the radio when I was stuck in the car with my late dad and he would love to listen to DZFE-FM where Francis had his daily inspirational talk on business and faith. Today, he is a sought-out motivational speaker to far-flung regions of the migrant and overseas Filipino community, giving 360 talks in 365 days of each year, as he says.

I personally met Paulo Tibig at the “Wealth Summit” and saw him again during the launch party of a company I used to work for in a short amount of time. Paulo has built his logistics company from ground-up and has also gone through the trials of being an entrepreneur. Today, he is an active officer with the Philippine Franchising Association, enthusiastically advocating franchising and entrepreneurship in the country.

Jayson Lo is a new guy to me, with a brief introduction by Randell before he went up on stage to give his talk on his successes, failures and trials in business, losing millions and gaining it back all over again. His story breathes optimism and faith, that despite being down in the rut there should be no direction but up.

Paulo Tibig

Ador Abrogena heads the Trust and Investment Group of Banco De Oro (BDO). They were the major sponsor of the event and this allowed them to present their product as a means to invest money into different financial instruments, i.e. equities, that yields far more returns than nominal savings accounts or worse the piggy bank.

But this was Randell’s show, with each speaker helping hone the messages that Randell spoke of. Like I mentioned, he started off his whole-day talk with education, and the lack of it, in a subject of personal finance that strikes hard into each one of us, from the time we start earning an income to the time most of the video displays of our entire life pass us by in a short span of time. Why is that? Why is our academic institutions not teaching us the rudiments of personal finance? Why didn’t they tell us what a life insurance is for, accident protection, educational and pension plans, stocks, futures, bonds and so many other ways we can make our money earn more rather than the piggy bank mentality of savings?

Jayson Lo

Randell showed his attendees a video on economic freedom, commenting that the more open and free the economy of a nation is, the more the residents benefit from it financially. The Philippines has a pseudo way of doing it, like opening corporate ownership to foreign entities at 100% for a selected list of industries; I observe that until the industry proves itself first, the Philippine government will not budge at lowering the barriers. Is money remittance the only means to sustaining the wealth of a country? In fact, will it sustain itself or falter once a new nation becomes the new source of skilled, quality workers? Do you think we need more foreign direct investments (FDI)?

I wish I was in high school again, and I was given the chance to attend a public seminar akin to Randell’s where I am awakened by the reality – at an early age – that I need to start planning my life; because today I realize that in order to bring up the stakes of succeeding regardless if an event creates it or not, “life events planning” is the keystone to securing financial success. From school to graduation, from my first job to my second and third one, my first entrepreneurial endeavor and the failures that befall each of them, to my marriage, kids, house, car, tuition fees, health care for everyone, insuring my family’s financial continuity should I die, retirement and the longevity of our lives while we cannot work anymore, and everything that affects my loved ones during and after my death. You think a high school kid will get encouraged to respond positively should he or she attend courses like this? You’ll never know until it happens.

As Randell mentions, there are three ways a person can acquired wealth:

• Inherit it
• Marry it
• Spend less and invest

Of course, the chances of waiting for the first two events to happen is like playing the Lotto – one in a gazillion chance. The best, most rational path to financial peace is the third means; and the age to which you start doing so is so often directly proportional to the odds of succeeding. It’s not just investing cash in financial instruments – the word also describes doing so for yourself. Acquiring new skills, experience, tools to assist you – there are a host of other means to which investing is also related to.

During the break, I was talking to Jenny Magalong, head honcho of Whiteboard, the company responsible for arranging Randell’s seminar, and was telling her how my dad never really prepared for his life events that affected our small-unit family. He only bought one life insurance, and that was out of respect to his brother-in-law, worth a whooping $680 in today’s measurement. He bought no education fund nor anything that prepared him for his retirement. At 54 years of age, he had a stroke which incapacitated him and abruptly ended his professional career and a continued income. By the time he died, all he had left my mom and I was the house. It was good enough I was the only child and supporting such as small family unit wasn’t a huge burden for my dad. I love my dad and my mom, and for everything good that I saw them do during my life; but preparing for the inevitable possibilities of life wasn’t a priority. Typical of the culture to which the average Filipino was brought up, everyone just kept spending but not investing.

The biggest topic which Randell and his guest speakers kept reiterating was all about debt. One story was about a 15,000 Peso per month employee amassing a staggering 1 million Peso debt, done in the course of a few years through friends, relatives and cash advances. It was like a pyramid scheme, loans made to pay off other loans, until the principal and interest payments ballooned to more than 6,000 percent. Another dealt with one who amassed a little less than 10 credit cards and just kept buying beyond her ability to pay until everything exploded in her face and she had maxed-out all her cards.

Obvious to everyone is the simple mathematical equation to financial peace, to wit:

Income – Expenses = Savings

Obviously, income should always be higher than expenses.
Obviously, if income is disturbed, expenses can be controlled down.
Obviously, you should not deduct savings and add it to expenses.
Obviously, savings means extra money stashed away somewhere.

That’s where the falacy of savings exist in our minds: it equates to a savings account in a bank. What many do not know, or attempt to try to know, is that savings also involves investment. Randell tells us the tried and tested rule of getting 30 percent of your total savings and investing this, or making your money grow more money. You leave the 70 percent intact for emergencies and the additional things you want to buy to motivate you to continue doing a good job. (New shoes, anyone?) But as time goes by, you keep iterating the method of investing 30 percent as your income goes up. I will assume that for everyone, 30 percent isn’t much to ask.

Randell Tiongson and me

Personal finance is as common as common sense tells you – save, invest, lessen cost, find more means to increase income. If you are reading this, it means you have access to the internet. Spend an hour a day sifting through the many ways of saving, of investing, of lessening your cost, of finding additional means to more income. You can also force yourself to start using some tools like a daily expense tally, or go more complex like using QuickBooks and the like. The faster means is hire a retained accountant to do your personal finance books, and a personal finance consultant to help you find the better and comfortable means to managing your finance, no matter how small it is. I remember Randell telling me it only costs about 18,000 Pesos or so to hire a good personal finance consultant which accounts for a series of one-on-one sessions, not just one.

You have to educate yourself to learning more about personal finance management. The likes of Randell’s whole day seminar is a small drop in a bucket of learning how to manage your money and how to plan for your future. Today may be great for you but man’s history is generally sought with many ups and downs. When you are in a period where there is no income coming in, are you prepared? Start today; it’s never too late even if you’re 50 or 60 years old. Better if you are 20 or 30 years of age and you begin planning and managing your present and future finances.

Personal finance – something old but still something new. Sounds like getting married? It is. It’s a lifelong commitment.

Title photo by Ken Teegardin at SeniorLiving.org

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Photo above is a studio shot of the (funny?) sales and operations managers of Group C of Avon in the Philippines, headed then by Connie Arboleda (holding the teddy bear).

My former colleague, mentor and past country manager of Avon in the Philippines, Malu Dy Buncio, now Chief Business Development Strategist at Mansmith and Fielders, Inc., recently popped an image-poster announcing her two-day pubic seminar on the dynamics of direct selling. For those who are thinking of entering the wonderful world of direct selling, I urge you to spend a little cash and time for this two-day seminar. Malu will not only thrill you and drive you nuts about direct selling (oh, how I miss listening to her); she’ll make sure you walk your way out of the seminar with a real, no nonsense plan. For more information, please go to the Mansmith web page of “The Dynamics of Direct Selling” or click on the poster below.

Anyway, this announcement from Malu got me thinking of my glory days working for the number one direct selling company in the Philippines (do you have to guess?) where I discovered the finer lines of managing thousands of independent dealers, not to mention learning to remove pride and ego by singing and dancing in front of everyone during sales rallies and assemblies. I mean, when do you get the chance to sing “Rapper’s Delight” in front of 800 people at The Music Museum? LOL! Those days have gone and passed but Avon was the pinnacle of my experience in the art of managing a direct selling organization and I owe many subsequent successes I’ve had to the people I worked with in direct selling. The fact is many of the things I will mention in my story came from pronouncements of Malu during her long tenure in Avon, not to mention also being the precursor to Avon in the Philippines – Beautifont.

In the interest of my love for the small business, I’d like to put this story in the same perspective that any new direct selling endeavor often starts as a small business and ends being a huge success, sometimes beyond your wildest dreams. All you need to do is “begin.”

Why I made my way into Direct Selling

I was first and foremost an I.T. geek or nerd long before anyone even heard the phrase “information technology.” It used to be called EDP (electronic data processing) and then transitioned itself to a more sexy term, MIS (management information systems). I spent seven years holed up in an office facing humongous CRT screens of “green fonts over black background” and programming my time away using Cobol, Basic, Pascal, C and xBase. Then, a blinding glimpse of the obvious struck me: I have never heard of an EDP or MIS guy become general manager of a company – any kind of company. This was the era long before the internet crept into the common household and Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web. Come to think of it, we were already excited just using Bulletin Board Systems (or BBS).

I pondered the thought some more and saw general managers coming from three usual places in corporate Philippines: finance, marketing or sales. Geez! Me do finance? I’d have to go back to school to do that plus pass the CPA exams and have a decade or so of grudging experience. I also quipped, “What the heck is marketing?” And so, the inevitable was obvious – find a job in sales.

I was the head of MIS in the Philippine licensee company of Jockey International which created other business units inside the company. During this time, Jockey Philippines recruited and convened a small team of experienced managers to plan, set up and operate a direct selling division. Being the top IT guy of the company, I became part of the planning team which included Millicent “Joy” Isaac and Naomi “Omi” Diaz. We eventually launched the direct selling unit and set up the first branch with myself handling automation and operations management. In a year or so, Omi left and the Operations Manager position in the direct selling unit became vacant, and I was asked to fill it in on a temporary basis while the owners looked for a replacement. After a week of its daily grind, I asked that I stay on a permanent basis. That started my direct selling career.

Two years in Jockey Philippines’ direct selling unit was great but my quest for learning more, especially on the sales side of the business, grew beyond what the company could provide me. So, I sought the help of two headhunters to find me a job inside the country’s number one direct selling company, Avon Cosmetics Inc. I moved into Avon in a lower rank, from National Operations Manager in Jockey to the Branch Manager of Avon’s Shaw (boulevard) Branch, with almost the same salary. That’s okay – the point is I’m in the best corporate university to get me a degree in direct selling, so to speak. I managed the third largest branch of Avon in the Philippines which, in two years, became number two in the country (Avon then had 21 branches nationwide), thanks to my able branch teammates in the likes of Arlene Nolasco, Tente Alday (now Country Manager of Mary Kay Philippines), Ria dela Vina and, of course, the original Big Brother when the TV show didn’t even exist, Jimmy Gatdula. We also had our mentor and the best group manager, Connie Arboleda, always patiently supporting our needs and our very diverse branch management team. After two years of grassroots experience dealing directly with the independent dealers and franchise managers of Avon, I moved to its head office to set up and manage the newly formed Customer Service Department, headed by another great mentor Tonet Rivera, now the Global-Regional top guy for Bristol-Myers Squibb and a budding pilot who writes about flying, together with his son, in their blog, Flying in Crosswinds.

But during my next two years as head of a new department in Avon, politics crept in, a good way in hindsight but not something I wanted for my career path. There was a new computer system being developed and implemented, and I was asked from the highest management realms to be part of the users group, the team that brought the practical ways of managing and operating direct selling branches. The history of automation in Avon always pulled good, experienced people from branch and support-unit levels, and involved them in the IT project. However, such projects usually lasted for a year or two, and by the time it ended, those branch sales and operations people already lost the original job they once had, not to mention a career path they started out with. Avon is a very good employer and in that respect, it usually created new positions to adopt these jobless champions of automation. Having that perspective in mind, I thought my carefully planned career path in Avon was gone. Then, a good friend recommended me to Personal Collection a.k.a. LTS Philippines, a competitor of Avon in the direct selling field, to head national operations. I took no longer than a week to decide, resigned my post in the IT project and immediately jumped into my new job. It only lasted a year to which the reason would need more paragraphs to relate; so, I won’t. After a total of seven years in direct selling, I spent two jobless months contemplating what to do before I eventually joined Mega Magazine as its General Manager. The rest is history.

The Beauty of Direct Selling

Mind you, I’ve never had the opportunity to be the moniker of the “Electrolux Man” gloriously singing, “I’m gonna knock on your door, ring on your bell, tap on your window, too…” But I invited myself to join two area saturation activities conducted by my Avon franchise managers to actually conduct the literal “knocking on the doors” activity: introducing myself as a representative of Avon (I couldn’t imagine calling myself an “Avon Lady”) and selling make-up and brassieres. On occasion, I would tag along in other area saturation drives but just observe than conduct the face-to-face cold-calling process.

After seven years inside the wonderful world of direct selling, I came to realize good things (and some not-so-good) about it. The most basic description and analogy to direct selling was that it was about personal selling: everything was face-to-face; 80 percent of the entire selling conversation was banter; relationships and camaraderie mattered more than today’s “business as usual” consumerism principles; it was a 9-to-9 job, especially on weekends; there was always an inviting commotion happening in our world almost every day – if not, our dealers would have left us; you learn the real “art of the sale” in direct selling and not from Donald Trump’s books; it was always “fun” almost every day; and it was also exhausting at times.

Despite all these things about direct selling, and running and managing a small or large organization of sales and operations people, one thing was very glaring – it was all about money. If money is not you cup of tea for a lifelong career, then direct selling isn’t for you. I remember my former IT boss telling me: “There are only three loves in the world which correspond to who you eventually become. For love of country, you become a teacher; for love of pride, you become a computer programmer or scientist; for love of money, you go into sales.” That’s what direct selling is all about for the millions of people who join the many companies in the industry – it’s all about money. It may be called “income opportunity” or any highfalutin description the creative marketer can coin, but the simplest, one-word term for it is still “money.”

“RITA” will help you succeed

To earn money in direct selling, you don’t pin yourself to area saturation drives and knocking on doors for the rest of your life. You must recruit people, commonly termed as your “down line.” In time, your down lines also mimic your success by recruiting their own network of people; and so the cycle continues. The larger your network of down lines, the better your income if the direct selling company you belong to acknowledges your down lines’ success to you. But things change and life for some down lines take a 180-degree turn, and so you lose some of these people along the way. To replace those who have left your network, you keep recruiting more people into your network. The famous moniker in direct selling happens to be the name of a woman – R.I.T.A. Simply put, it means “Recruitment Is The Answer.”

It’s like the job of the recruitment officer in a company, and you’ll never know when your best employee will decide to leave you. The recruitment officer continues to cull the labor pool for people with the right skills and competence, and puts them in an active file. For direct selling, RITA must not be in an active file – these new recruits must immediately join your network and you start teaching them how to sell great. RITA is a daily job, not a seasonal one. You don’t stop recruiting until you stop direct selling. It’s just part your job.

One of the most important acronyms I learned – R.T.D.M.S.

Okay, here come the acronyms again; but this is important. This time, it describes you entire role with your network and your direct selling business. In sequence, RTDMS simply means “Recruit, Train, Develop, Motivate and Sell.” These are the pinnacles of your work in your direct selling job. It is a cycle that you do every day. It is the process by which you become successful in your direct selling career. It is inevitable that you do all these, not just one.

We’ve touched on RITA as a means to continue growing your network while others inside it may falter and leave. “Training” your network, new recruits or otherwise, is an ongoing function. Many of your down lines cannot afford formal study about sales and many of them may not have gotten a college degree; and so you must fill-in that hole in order to better themselves. Training can be one-on-one coaching or group sessions. It can be short, one-hour bursts or whole-day, out-of-town sessions. However it is done, your content has got to be meaningful to them. From selling tips to effective on-time collections to recruitment blitzes and developing a growing network, it’s your job to teach them all these. The best method is obviously based on your experience of becoming a successful direct seller. Ask the help of someone who can assist in creating simple Powerpoint presentations or just talking points. Don’t create a written speech of the entire session – speak from your heart and experience, and with gusto! Sometimes, you need to attend good public or private training sessions – do so at your expense. What you pay for at these public training courses will return back to you in multiple folds if you apply it and teach it.

Photo by ericoebanda at Flickr-com

Developing your network means finding those rare down lines who can one day become great leaders like you. You have to be observant in finding these future leaders and give them more of your time than usual. You have to pull and convince them of your intention to groom them as a future leader of their network (under your network). Like a teacher, you have to create a simple syllabus of their development so there is a guide for both of you to follow. Some of your future leaders cannot be groomed – that’s okay. This means don’t just choose one – choose a few good ones. Besides money and pride of success, the basic thing we usually leave our children, network of friends, and work colleagues is education. The additional gratification for developing future leaders is their admission that you were responsible for their success, even if the direct selling company you work with does not financially recognize the leaders elevated from your network.

Motivation and inspiration may be intertwined but the point is to make the heart as energized as the mind. The psychology of successful people is always bred inside the heart and soul – the unconscious part of a being – that propels him or her to do great using his conscious mind. It is a daily role you play while you crisscross the many people in your network. Be it done on stage or a small group session, motivational speeches are usually impromptu. I used to buy those corny “Chicken Soup” books and other similar titles, and would index-card them according to title or theme. I made sure I wrote down the group to which I told my motivational story in each index card so that I don’t repeat myself the next time I’m called to talk. However you do things, you have to carry many stories with you and be careful not to repeat them else you start hearing snickering and pun smiles from your audience.

Selling does not stop because you have a network doing that for you. There are always people who will demand to buy only from you, especially your personal customers to which you have been selling to when you started your direct selling career. They may even recommend you, not your down line, to sell to their friends. Whatever the reason may be, your selling job is never over. Even while sitting in a restaurant you open your Avon catalog and glance at the neighboring table looking at you and your catalog, heck! Offer to show them the catalog and sell them. You’ll never know – they may become your top seller in the future. Like any good teacher training your down lines, keep your selling skills intact by practicing what you preach all the time. These instances are also good stories to tell your down lines during your motivational speeches.

Alone is not the answer to Direct Selling success

If you browse publications that show the successes of people in the direct selling field, you’ll notice that most of them are always married couples. Why is that? Simple: you can’t do all things successful, alone. “No man is an island” is alive and well in direct selling. You have to have a partner to help you achieve your success.

A partner doesn’t really have to be your husband or wife; it can be your cousin, brother, sister, parents or even your friend. At most, it’s always been a relative in the Philippines. But a spouse is usually best. The way it works is that both of you divide the many things involved in your direct selling business. For one, face-to-face activities such as recruitment, training and motivation are primarily in your alley. Back-office work like inventory management, credit and collection, computerization or automation, and a host of others belong to your partner who is usually not the type who can talk in front of hundreds of people, if not just a dozen, and can sell themselves about your direct selling business. Sometimes, these partners are also your drivers, collectors, distributors, coordinators, personal assistant, etc. Don’t put them down because of the type of job they do for you – they are as every bit important as what you do. Together, you bring totality in your direct selling business and make it even more successful because of your diversity in character and the division of labor you’ve both agreed to undertake. In the end, always reward your partner, whether with your time or money, because without them, you will greatly lose out and fail.

There are many upcoming direct selling businesspeople who think doing it alone is better than having to manage a husband or wife to help them with their business. History has been repeating itself that couples are the best type of business partners that make an endeavor succeed faster than you would think. If you are focused on your job, knowing the other always has your back, the chance of success becomes limitless.

Will your children willingly inherit your Direct Selling business?

Here’s one glaring thing that I have noticed in the great direct selling businesses in the Philippines – no matter how hard the parents try, the children are always never interested in inheriting and pursuing their parents’ direct selling business. For most, the children’s interest lies elsewhere. Why is that?

Think about it – when parents are financially good, their natural tendency is to educate their children in the best schools money can buy. These children grow up hob-knobbing with the children of other successful parents who live in posh residences and mingle only with the upper echelons of society. Well, generally speaking. If that or anything similar is the scenario with the kids, they will eventually develop interests that’s probably contrary to your direct selling business like a professional career in the medical or legal fields, hi-technology work involving computers and the internet, or other career paths.

Photo by rochell at Flickr-com

Direct selling in the Philippines caters to the middle-to-lower strata of social classes. This is where the ambition of wealth is more desirable in direct selling than asking the successful ones to abandon what they’re doing and join in. Children who have been bred and educated in expensive private schools tend to shun away from dealing with the masses of direct selling. The mere idea of speaking in the jargon that the masses can understand is already a feared activity, not to mention having to do everything that mom and dad have been doing during their growing-up years. There is a disconnect in terms of social breeding, education and ambition to be someone; if it were a life of corporate boardrooms where titans meet other titans of industry, that would be most appealing to the children. But a direct selling business isn’t anywhere in that spectrum. Though even more successful than many struggling corporate giants, the allure of neckties and chic corporate suits just doesn’t match the loose, very informal setting of direct selling. In the end, the parents end up giving their successful network to someone who has no blood relations to them – anyone they trust the most in their down lines.

This is a challenge to many direct selling companies managing successful and thriving networks – there is no succession plan within one network. The inevitable is that when the successful couple retires or is too old to work, the network is in chaos and immediately divides itself into many smaller pockets, and the former glory of the parent network withers away. I once attempted to convince Avon that employing automation as an incentive to lure the Yuppie kids of successful direct selling moms and dads is a gateway, not the only solution, for the kids to enter the direct selling domain. Once inside the business, it becomes easier for mom and dad to story-tell what they’re doing and slowly introduce the children to their day-to-day activities. They may set up a small office for the children where they can dress up in suits and chic corporate attires, but they eventually become personally involved in the business. In time, they realize the income potential, imbibe the work styles, assimilate the character of mom or dad, and continue the business when the parents retire. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, my proposals fell through the cracks of the mighty direct selling giant. “That’s how the cookie crumbles?”

In summary

Hey! For every story or article, there’s got to be a summary, right? So, let me jump right into it and rewrite everything in outline form:

• Much like any kind of job you do, you do it because you love it. Period. The moment you fall out of love, forget it. No matter how hard you try, you’re just dragging yourself into something you think is worth it but in hindsight you don’t give a crap about it. In the end, you’re bound to fail.
• Direct selling is personal selling as opposed to today’s mix of online and offline selling in the corporate sense. Think of it as social media selling – it’s always more a social encounter than business as usual. If you can’t socialize, you’re a dead duck in Direct Selling.
• Direct Selling, like any kind of sales job, is primarily about money before anything else. “Ewww! Money? Not for me.” Then don’t.
• “Recruitment Is The Answer” (or RITA) is only one answer to make it big. There are lots more I didn’t discuss.
• RTDMS is another “answer” of making it big in Direct Selling.
• “No man is an island” in Direct Selling success means you have to have your partner doing full-time work, too. Doing it alone is just too hard, creates too much anxiety and not worth the cake. Find the right partner, synergize and do it together, forever!
• Provide the best education for your children that your Direct Selling money can buy. But if you want them to inherit your Direct Selling business, you’ve got to start planning a way to entice them to join you. Forcing them to do so at a more adult age won’t make the grade. Create a succession plan – ask help from others if you need to – but make a plan, any workable plan.

My Mom and I in Miami

Today, I am what I am thanks to my seven years of in-depth and hands-on experience in the three direct selling companies I worked for, the longest and best of which belongs to Avon. From a geek who often replied in single words, I can now express and describe a single word in multiple paragraphs and have no qualms speaking to large groups of people; besides the awesome “people and sales management” skills I learned. If you intend to be general manager one day, you’ve got to make “sales” part of your career itinerary because it simply goes a long way in molding you to the right future head of a company, large or otherwise. Direct selling is here to stay; you can’t discount the fact that it offers the lowly poor an invitation to succeed if he or she puts their heart and mind into it. It’s the fastest way to make money – for everyone!

If there’s a book entitled “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff,” someone ought to write “Don’t Sweat the Direct Selling Stuff.” Direct selling may be part of your destiny – today! So, find out if it so.

Ending this, I leave you with my favorite ten, two-letter words that make up a great, inspirational sentence. “If it is to be, it is up to me.” Awesome indeed!

Referenced websites:

Dynamics of Direct Selling
http://www.mansmith.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=177&catid=27&Itemid=17

Mansmith and Fielders, Inc.
http://www.mansmith.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1&Itemid=35

Tim Berners-Lee
http://www.w3.org/People/Berners-Lee/

World Wide Web
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Wide_Web

Jockey International
http://www.jockey.com/

Jockey Philippines
http://gtvl.com/

Avon Cosmetics, Inc.
http://www.avon.com.ph/PRSuite/home_page.page

Flying in Crosswinds
http://tonetcarlo.wordpress.com/

Bristol-Myers Squibb
www.bms.com/

Personal Collection a.k.a. LTS Philippines
http://www.philippinecompanies.com/companyprofile/36840/lts-phils-corp-personal-collection-

The Electrolux Man and Other Stories
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Electrolux-Man-Other-Stories/dp/0947062149

Donald Trump’s The Art of the Deal
http://www.amazon.com/Trump-Art-Deal-Donald-J/dp/0446353256

Mary Kay Philippines
http://www.marykay.com.ph/mkpweb08/home.asp

Mega Magazine
http://www.mega-magazine.com/

Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff
http://www.amazon.com/Sweat-Small-Stuff-small-stuff/dp/0786881852

There are, of course, those that think otherwise. For some reason, I may have hurt them or became the reason why they failed a business opportunity or the like. If in my good conscience I know I have done nothing wrong but gave everything my honest and sincere best, then I can sleep soundly and now worry about those who may think “otherwise.” Life is too short to keep hurt feelings or, worse, become vengeful with spite. I grew up with parents who were not perfect but were consistently nice and accommodating to everyone. That character rubbed in on me and made me live life according to those ideals. Despite the ordeals and hurtful encounters, never ever change the goodness in you – ever!

I haven’t written at all only because of the rut I went through. But, like any wounded prey, you lick your wounds, heal yourself, get up and start walking back to the path you came from. That path is still my intention of providing for my wife and children and being able to go back and live with them – near them. A short version of a long story is that I live thousands of miles away from my family but I never relinquished the aspiration to be back with them, forever.

My rut was the result of a few failed projects involving call centers, web development, content development and internet marketing. My realization to all these is that at the end of the day you are still who you want to be, and if those failures make you succumb to brooding and procrastination, you will have failed not only yourself but everyone around you. To be able to get back up on your feet and go back to your chosen path in life is difficult but not impossible. God and faith are very important – don’t be part the 5% population in the world that do not believe in God at all. God moves wonders in you to make a dash back to reality and life, and continue conveying compassion, love and understanding to everyone around.

Notice that many of the world’s richest people are, well, to put in direct perspective, “assholes.” Therefore, nice people don’t necessarily beget wealth – not that much, anyway. I don’t mind that at all. I’ve learned that our aspiration in life must not be about money but peace of mind. Regardless of how people think of you, if you think you have done no one wrong, or if you have sincerely apologized for the wrong that you have done, then there’s nothing from stopping you to live life according to your good principles in life.

Be a good person, no matter what the odds are. Money does grow on trees but it blossoms way above an oak tree – yeah, that tall. You need effort, determination, focus and ambition to have your picking. That’s how wealth is achieved. However, there are other people also trying to do just the same as you are, together in the same tree. If you think kicking them out of the tree to fall and hurt themselves, or trampling on them to speed up your ascent, will make it easier and faster for you to get your wealth, well, think a milion times before doing just that. Because, man, I’ll tell you – it isn’t worth it.

Today, two nice persons by the name of Fred C. and Chris P. have given me renewed life to a new business opportunity that I thought was lost. We recently met, rejuvinated the past intention to market and sell their service in the country, rekindled our professional relationship to a new par, and has now inspired me to rise up from the rut and go back to the path I was once at. Yes, you need people like Fred and Chris who are willing to help you, even if it’s just a nudge. You need people who are willing to support you in what you’re trying to do, people like my newfound friend, Gale P. You need to continue doing the “meet and greet” friendly, unobtrusive networking even if the likelihood of a sale isn’t there – there are always indirect means through your new professional acquaintances that isn’t apparent but will eventually result in closing a sale. Don’t do it out of self-interest because that kind of negative vibe will become obvious later on. Do your networking out of sincere interest to meet, greet and get to know the person well, especially friends and acquaintances you haven’t seen for a long time.

One thing you must always do is “be honest.” Never lie, cheat or steal. You don’t have to be great friends or BFFs but honesty is a quality that draws honest people closer to you than, say, your gift of gab. In the 80-20 rule of life, 20 percent of people may just want to use you. Be careful but be honest. If you can’t help the person who’s asking for money or your valuable time, tell them so. I was once in that situation where I asked people for money (I panicked) and half of them responded back. A big portion of that half said they couldn’t help me because of varied reasons. With sincere gratitude, I admonished appreciation for even just responding back to me. Many of them today are closer to me as friends or business acquaintance than before. The other half stayed silent and I’ll never know why; but that’s okay. They have their own reasons why and I for one cannot even think of judging people. My faith has taught me well that only God can judge us.

I have lived alone since, oh, for almost two years. Prior to that, I lived with my in-laws for about a half a year. I am an only child so maybe that’s the reason why I can survive without have anyone in my humble abode when I come home. After separating from my family, I pursued the course of entrepreneurship and have had my share of successes and failure, more of the latter. Good friends who became my business partners are now gone and, like always, I do not force myself to want someone to like me. Again, they have their reasons. Many other people I know, friends and acquaintances, continue to appreciate me as who I am; and I am thankful for them all the time. If I feel the angst to be around people, I just go to a coffee shop with my notebook computer and get into my creative self of looking for solutions to my issues and my problems. My notebook is my best tool of soltitude, tapping away on the keyboard, verbatim to my thoughts and without the need to edit what I first write. Regardless of my situation, I try to visit my in-laws every weekend and mingle with them on everyday banter of family life or things that have happened.

Recently, my father-in-law got sick and had to go through an Angioplasty surgery. I didn’t have to tell anyone that I felt so much compassion for him and what he was going through. I felt his pain. He is growing old yet continue to work for wealth because, somehow, I understand his need to fulfill many of his childhood aspirations. He is a kind and decent man. Just like me, he is an only child, too. I even asked my Facebook friends for their prayers, and many obliged openly or did it in their own non-public ways. My real father, Antonio Lumanlan Pekson, died 16 years ago and even if my father-in-law isn’t my blood relative, he is the only Dad I have today. (My Mom also lives far away from me.) My Catholic and Filipino traits rub on me to respect my parents and elders, be kind and honest to people, and never cheat, lie or steal – and of course, never kill. With that, I will always love my in-laws in my own humble way.

I’m now trying to get back on the road to recovery. I have been very busy tyring to come up with sales and marketing plans for the service I am trying to sell. KUNNECT is a hosted call center solution that allows any business center or call center, small or large, to perform its customer-centric services without the need for large capital investments, no need for a long set up duration and no expensive upfront fees. I love the product and the service, and I love the people behind it – Fred, Chris and everyone in KUNNECT. It has, as I mentioned, given me a renewed inspiration to fulfill my dreams once again but with the honest feeling that I’m doing the business market some good, too, in providing a cheaper but productive way to do business. And I’m doing it “on my own.” No more business partners. No more suckering myself into believing that good friends are the best kinds of business partners. They will always be my friends but I’ve learned late in life that it’s not always the best combination. Give them something to do on their own is better than working together but feeling you can’t argue about his personal self in the workplace. That’s a fine tightrope to walk.

Love God. Love your family. Love everyone around you even if they do the wrong things. Love your work, something which you spend a third of your life doing – sometimes even more. But most importantly, love yourself, too. To love yourself means you profess a positive aura that becomes very transparent to the people around you – and, like a virus, they get hooked on your positiveness and optimism, and project the same sentiments to others. All told, life is short but life is good, no matter what the odds are. Life is God’s gift to you – so, treasure it to its fullest potential.

Happy halloween!